Jackie Chan Adventures: Relics Rising
by Zer Author
Summary: It seems history has more secrets than anyone ever expected, and Jade Chan has let them all out. So her past comes to haunt her, as enemies old and new fight for the world, and for her. Because she has power now, the power to make a choice, and whoever rules her choices rules everything. Of course, they'll have to beat her to it first. A Dark Jade Story. (sorta)
1. Chapter 1: The Forbidden Box

Jackie Chan Adventures

"So, what's today's mission," sighed Jackie Chan, archeologist and part time 'researcher' for the secret law keeping organization Section Thirteen. "Stop a magical ritual to explode a volcano? Break a curse fueled plague that's turning people into frogs? Uncover the Lost City of Atlantis? Rescue a princess from a dragon?" His head was slumped on his hand, the very picture of dejection in his blue sweater, and khakis.

"I'm sorry Jackie," replied Agent Agustus Black, the head agent of Section 13 as he sat down next to his friend. Big, brawny, and bald, with the start of a dignified goatee, Captain Black wore his usual red shirt and black jacket, a heavy pistol hanging from the belt on his slacks. "I really am," he continued, waving his hands helplessly. "I had no idea that when I hired you as a researcher all that time ago, that things would end up like this! I didn't even know magic was real then!"

Jackie sighed again and rubbed his face, leaning back into his cushy airplane seat. "I know, Augustus, I know. But this secret agent nonsense is beginning to interfere with my real job. I haven't attended a dig in months!"

"I understand, Jackie, really. We're already training several agents to take on your role, but they're not ready yet, and frankly you're the only I'd trust with a mission like this; Daolon Wong is back."

"What?!" Jackie shouted, leaping to his feet. "I thought he was caught in the past because of the Deja Vu stone!"

"Of course not," snapped Uncle as he burst through the curtain separating first class from the entrance. " Daolon Wong is verrrry powerful dark chi wizard! Deja Vu stone cannot hold him for long, powerless or not! Uncle told you we should not relax guard!" The proud Cantonese wizard waved his skinny arms about himself, permanently disgruntled in his blue slacks and orange vest, with a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles perched before his irate eyes.

"But Uncle...!" (thwack!). "OW!" cried Jackie as he rubbed the spot where Uncle had hit him, two fingers straight to the top of his head.

"No buts! Now we must hunt down Daolon Wong, and prevent him from getting his hands on more dark magic!" The ancient chi wizard, and proprietor of the antique shop Uncle's Rare finds, plopped down onto his own seat with a sigh. "One more thing!" he cried. "Uncle is very thirsty, so someone must make tea!"

"Do we even know what Daolon Wong is after?" demanded Jackie Chan in exasperation, returning to his own seat with a groan.

"We believe he is looking for the Portal of Lost Magic," answered Tohru as he entered the plane, bent nearly double in the confined space. A mountain of a man, dressed in a white shirt with black overalls, Uncle's shop assistant and former Chi wizard apprentice was forced to tiptoe sideways through the aisle ways, before dropping into his seat, which buckled in a piteous way.

"Sounds nifty. So what's it do?"

Jackie fought not to flinch as the cheerful voice of his irrepressible and adventurous niece appeared over his shoulder, her face popping up from behind his seat. Captain Black, on the other hand, leaped entirely out of his seat in surprise, making Jade laugh.

"What the...how the...!" sputtered Captain Black, eyes wide. "I locked you in the **basement**! With guards! How are you here?!"

"The stairs, duh," snickered Jade, tumbling over the chair-back to land in Agustus's abandoned seat. She was, as always, dressed in her orange hoodie and blue jeans, with a wide smirk that crinkled her amber eyes at the corners. "You know," she said as she strapped herself in, ignoring Captain Black's sputters of protest, "popping in was a lot more fun when you'd at least **act** surprised."

Jackie silently thanked Uncle for putting him through three years of drama school, before saying, "Jade, it was surprising the first thirty times, and annoying the next sixty times; now, it is more worrying if you **don't** appear, because then I can't keep an eye on you." He threw his niece a fond smile to keep the sting from his words, and Jade gave him a grin in return, her eyes bright. The two of them had slowly been reaching an equilibrium of sorts, Jackie loosening the leash a bit, and Jade doing her best to at least consider his instructions; not to mention the immense improvement in her schoolwork, a result of Captain Blacks lecture about the requirements of being an agent. Apparently, Secret Agents actually needed to know things like math and history.

"Heh, too bad," chuckled Jade as she watched Captain Black give up and choose another seat. "I was hoping to get another picture for the 'Wall of Uncle Jackie's Expressions of Surprise'." Everyone present briefly considered the possibility of Jade actually having such a thing, and simultaneously gave it even odd either way. "So," she continued, refocusing on the issue at hand. "What's this Portal thingie for anyway?"

"The Portal of Lost Magic is a conduit built by ancient wizards to access things from before even their time," lectured Uncle, equally unconcerned by Jade's appearance. "One more thing. Within it lies the capacity to access all magic that no longer exists on this world. One more thing! It can also bestow knowledge of past spells, rituals, and many other secrets! One more thing! The Portal can only be activated by someone who once possessed magic of their own, but have lost it through some manner."

"So Daolon Wong is going there to regain his powers, hm?" said Captain Black, clipping his seat belt with a grunt.

"Not just that," explained Tohru. "With full access to the Portal, Daolon Wong could easily gain access to ancient arts long lost, Dark and Light alike."

"Then why hasn't he already?" asked Jackie as he fastened his own seatbelt. Up ahead, the pilots began finishing their pre-flight sequence. "Why bother with the Deja Vu stone?"

"The Portal is guarded by great wards and powerful sentinel's, enough to frighten even Daolon Wong, and only now is he desperate enough to risk it. One more thing! Where is Uncle's tea?! Uncle is verrry thirsty!"

"Che, not that it matters. A quick one two punch from the Jackinator, and Daolon Wong will be out of the picture!" bragged Jade.

"Do not be foolish! Even without magic, Daolon Wong is verrrry dangerous Dark Chi Wizard! One more thing! Tohru, go make Uncle's tea!"

"But Sensei, they do not carry tea on board, and there is no kettle for boiling the water."

"You want Uncle to defeat Daolon Wong, yes? Then make Uncle tea, like a good apprentice!"

"But...Sensei, I am no longer your apprentice."

"Ah...yes, that is right," said the old man sadly. "Uncle forgot...you are no longer apprentice..."

(thwack) "Ow!" cried the giant.

"But you are still employee! Now go make Uncle tea!"

"Now wait just a minute," said Captain Black as the plane finally began to ascend into the air. "The basement doesn't have stairs!"

"Wow," whistled Jade as she looked up at the cavernous walls, hands in the pockets of her hoodie. "Talk about Creepsville central."

Her statement was, at best, a mild understatement. While the caves before her lacked the subtle malevolence of other places she had visited (like the demons dimensional prison, Daolon Wong's palace, or the Oni's realm of Shadows) it was still a dark and forbidding place. Jagged spears of rock jutted from floor and ceiling like stony teeth, while ghostly wisps of fog drifted by on wafts of unliving breath. The indecipherable script painted across the cave mouth did little to improve the mood; while no one, not even Jackie or Uncle, knew what they said, or what they were for, their obvious unfriendliness kept all those present as far away from the entrance as practically possible.

Jackie took a long look at their destination, rubbing his head as he said, "Uncle, are you sure the Portal is in...". (Thwack!) "Ow!"

"Of course Uncle is sure! The map says it is here! Never argue with the map!"

"But...it looks so dark." (Thwack!) "Ow!"

"Of course it looks dark! It is powerful magical place with dangerous guardians! Do you think it should look friendly for the tourists? Aiyah! Uncle has a fool for a nephew!"

"Sorry, sorry!" cried Jackie as he fled Uncle's elderly wrath.

"Jackie," called Captain Black as the archeologist passed by. "Are we ready to go in?"

"Yes, we should...wait, what do you mean we? I'm the only one going inside!"

"And me!" shouted Jade from where she perched on a rock near the entrance.

"What?! No Jade, you are going to stay here, where it's..." he caught sight of Jade's expression and slumped. "...I'm just going to save my breath."

"Jackie, I told you that we're trying to train some new agents to take over your job, but we can't do that without getting them some field experience, and I can't command them unless I know what they're going through," Black explained, shrugging his pack onto his shoulders.

"But...this is Daolon Wong! And a dangerous chamber! You can't expect me to drag other people through here!"

"Not to worry, Jackie, not to worry," responded Captain Black placatingly as he strapped on some sort of body armor underneath his coat. "They might not be your equal, but these are all highly experienced agents, with training in martial arts, gymnastics, and the basics of archeology and sorcery. And I myself am a soldier of no small skill. We might not be much help in there, but I don't think we'll slow you down either."

"Hmph. Says you," growled one of the agents in question, a short man with dark skin and a black buzzcut, clad in a black bodysuit. He strapped on his own suit of armor, buckling on a pair of pistols as he sneered, "Seems like we should be more worried about the treasure hunter...oops, I mean arch-ee-olo-gist slowing us down."

"Hey, do you have problem with my uncle?" demanded Jade from directly behind the man, making the agents jump. Captain Black in particular kept looking at Jade, then back at her previous location, a hundred yards away.

"What the...how did you...never mind," grumbled the Agent as he dismissed the young girls sudden appearance. "But yes, I have a problem with the untrained and unlicensed unprofessional lout who lets his six year old niece tag along on his mad cap adventures...!"

"Hey! I'm thirteen years old, you jerk! And I'll have you know that Jackie is the bestest, most awesome agent ev..."

"Agent Loki, Jackie has my full and complete confidence," interjected Captain Black, with a hard look at his subordinate, "a fact I have stated several times."

"Whatever," grunted Agent Loki, shrugging on his backpack and trudging away...or, rather, trying to do so, and instead finding himself sliding backwards across the ground as Captain Black pulled him back by the straps.

"No, not whatever," growled Black as he bodily lifted the shorter man off the ground, flipping him around to glare at his face. "You are a subordinate agent under my authority, and I am telling you to regard Jackie as your superior officer! You will listen to him, and respect him, or by my badge I will toss you out of here on your arse." He hauled the agent closer, looking him directly in the eyes as he idly continued, "Now I understand, I really do; it's hard to believe in something you regard as nonsense, and you haven't shared our opportunity to rearrange your worldview. However, in spite of my protests, the folk upstairs have decided to send you here for whatever reason; and I am telling you, here and now, that you don't have to believe in the supernatural, you don't have to believe in Jackie, and you don't have to believe the stories. But understand this, I do believe, I believe all of it, and I know that Jackie is the best person to see us through intact. Now, are we clear?...I said, ARE WE CLEAR!"

"Sir, yes sir!" shouted Agent Loki, petrified beyond reasoning.

"Good man," replied Captain Black as he dropped him, then turned to go finish packing.

Agent Loki looked at the Captain with an expression of astonishment, before he spotted Jade from the corner of his eye, the girl sticking her tongue out at him. "I understand, Captain Black," he called after his superior, "but my protest stands. This is no place for a child, and I must insist that Chan's niece stay behind!"

"Wait, what?" said Jade, startled.

"Tell you what," shouted Black without turning around, "If you think you can keep her out of it, **you** are more than welcome to try."

"Thank you sir," growled Agent Loki, glaring darkly at Jade Chan.

"If you think you can just kick me out of this," snarled Jade as she crouched into a fighting stance, "you have got another think coming!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You can't do this!" protested Jade as she tugged on the handcuffs, which were looped around one of the ceiling handles. "This is cruel and unusual punishment! I am a vital...! Hey! Are you listening?! You cannot just leave me here like this...!" Such was the volume of her shouts, even from within the car, that Jackie could hear every word distinctly from far inside the cave.

"I dunno, this seems a bit cruel," said one of the agents as she looked back at the cave mouth, rubbing her head sheepishly. "Sure, I can see keeping her safe, but locking her in the car like that?"

"Agents Brill and Paris will watch over her," sneered Agent Loki smugly. "And best of all, she'll be out of danger, where it's safe, isn't that right Mister Chan?"

"I will admit, you seem to have it all figured out," conceded Jackie cheerfully from the lead of the procession.

"That's right, I do."

Back at the car, Jade watched the Agents left behind begin to patrol the entrance, and smirked when they lost sight of her. "Thank you Viper," she murmured cheerfully as she pulled out the set of handcuff keys she had picked from Loki's pocket. "Adventure, here I come."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" whined Agent Loki while Jackie and Uncle worked together to decipher some hieroglyphics scrawled around a crossroads; the third crossroads, in fact. The cave had turned out to be just as dark and unpleasant as it seemed, with dark winding tunnels, and a claustrophobically low ceiling that left everyone except Uncle and Agent Loki bent over.

"Yes, yes, there are several mentions of the Portal in here," replied Jackie, only mild annoyance audible in his voice.

"Do we even know if this Doo lon Won is..." (Thwack!) "Ow!"

"Of course we do, do not be foolish! Do you see hundreds of deadly traps, all raving to kill our bodies and eat our spirits? No? That is because Daolon Wong is already here, and has cleared most of the traps out of the way."

"So he's ahead of us then?" snapped Agent Loki. "Then what are waiting for," he growled as he began striding forward. "We need to catch...whoa!" he shouted as Tohru dragged him back. "What are you doing, you..."

[Whumph.]. The block of stone which landed precisely where Loki would have been was surprisingly quiet for a half ton lump of bludgeoning death; the strongest sign of its arrival was the blast of displaced air that billowed out from it under it.

"Uncle said that Daolon Wong has beaten most of the traps, not all of the traps," snapped the Chi wizard. "You should pay attention to Uncle! One more thing! The writings say the Portal is this way," he murmured as he walked off in exactly the opposite direction Loki had chosen.

"Whuh-Whuh..." stammered Agent Loki, while Jackie, Captain Black, and the female agent led the way down the chosen path.

"Wow, bet you feel silly," said Jade.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What was that?" demanded the female agent as she crept along beside Jackie, listening to the cries of pain as they faded away.

"I'd say that was my niece appearing behind Agent Loki, startling him into banging his head into the ceiling," commented Jackie with a hint of smugness.

"Oh? I thought she was handcuffed to the car."

"We've learned to stop questioning it," admitted Captain Black. "Remind me to tell you about the time she escaped Section 13 from under guard, and somehow traveled halfway across the world to save Jackie from a giant fire breathing Demon Sorceror."

If there are expressions that can say a thousand words, thought Jackie, then there must certainly be expressions that show pure speechlessness, like the one plastered across the female agents face. Hurriedly changing the subject, Jackie said, "So, I do not believe I ever caught your name."

"Oh. Uh, I'm Agent Levi. And that brute we left with the others is Agent Dredge."

"Ah. Are those...your names, or your code names?"

"Yes." Then Agent Levi sped up, and Jackie unexpectedly found himself struggling to keep up with her, while poor Captain Black was soon left behind. Not that either of them minded over much, since they got a wonderful view from back there. (Well, Jackie got a wonderful view; Captain Black got a nice glimpse instead.) Agent Levi was an impeccable example of womanhood, lithe and strong, but with wonderful curves to hold and caress, especially where they flexed beautifully under her jeans. If she had possessed long red hair to stream behind herself, the image would have been perfect, though the bounce of her chin-length curls was still very cute.

Jackie found himself admiring the way her pale neck would flash through her hair as he said, "So wait, does that...oh, I understand." The knowing look enough that flashed across his face was enough to make Jade wince, even from a hundred feet away. "It's a secret, isn't it?" he said with a wink "One of those 'if I tell you I'd have to kill you' things."

"What?! No, no, Mr. Chan..."

"Please," he interrupted, blushing, "call me Jackie."

"Mr...(sigh) Jackie, you're already so deep into things that the only person with higher clearance is Captain Black. So no, it's not a secret per se...but Mr, sorry, Jackie," she said quickly, cutting of his protests, "being a secret agent is a very secretive, very private affair. It is not the sort of profession where you, for example, tell your real name to someone you **just met**."

"Oh. Well then, I guess we'll just have to get to know each other better." It was an amazing comeback, all things considered, and Agent Levi couldn't help but listen with horrified admiration as Jackie continued, "Listen, I know you're busy right now, what with the whole secret agenting thing, and stuff, but maybe after all this is done...we could go get coffee?"

"...Jackie, are you flirting with- Watch out!" she cried, pointing dead ahead.

"Whuh- whoa!" cried Jackie as he jumped straight up, trying to dodge the wild boar that had burst out the darkness. Reflexes honed by adventure and battle proved their worth, letting him summersault up and over the animals back, rolling off to land on a passing boulder. Quickly spinning in place, he fell into a fighting stance, only to see no sign of his attacker. "Huh?"

"Mr Chan!" The cry of warning spun him back around, and he gaped as he saw Agent Levi's attackers.

"You have got be joking," he groaned as he moved to rescue her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mr Chan!" Captain Black lifted his head up, pausing his panting to take in the sound. He had long since dropped back to join the slower group, utterly winded by the crushing pace of the two martial artists.

"Was that...?" he gasped, bald crown shining with sweat.

"Jackie's in trouble!" cried Jade as she rushed off to the rescue.

"Jade, wait!" shouted Tohru as he charged after her.

The other agents moved to follow them, but were stopped by a cry of, "Noooooo! You will wait with Uncle! Uncle is very old, and very tired, and will need help over rocky ground. Captain Black, you will go!"

"What! But...!". He caught sight of Uncle's raised hand, and abruptly changed his mind, fleeing off after the others.

"Good!" said Uncle. "Now, who wants some of Uncle's garlic. Is very good for you!"

Jade, despite her shortness, was almost as fast and agile as Jackie was, due to months spent keeping up with the martial artist. Only the sheer length of Tohru's legs allowed him to catch up to her; Captain Black had a much easier time of it, with a history of track and field, though he was already puffing like a steam engine. In any case, Jade turned the corner less than a minute after Jackie had, only to freeze mid step as she saw what lay beyond. "No way," she breathed as Tohru tried desperately not to trample her.

The youngest watched as Jackie Chan jumped, hopped, skipped, crawled, rolled, and twirled over, around, and through the oddest menagerie seen this side of eternity. A gorilla tried to smash him, an elephant tried to stomp him, and a lion tried to pounce him, all while a parakeet, sparrow, and hummingbird buzzed his head. A seal, a duck, a moose, a spider the size of a cat, a cat the size of a badger, a reindeer, and a unicorn...

"Aiyah!" cried Uncle as he finally caught up with his pseudo-niece, readjusting his spectacles. "This must be the legendary parade of a thousand beasts, a magical creation containing every animal in all of China!"

"Uh, Uncle?" Jade commented, still staring at the spectacle. "Since when are penguins Chinese?"

"...Jade has good point. Must be a local variant. One more thing! To defeat Parade we must find Animus Loci, anchor point for spell. It will be an animal, but unlike the others, with a dramatic difference to show it as distinct..."

"Like a blue porcupine wearing an angry hat?" Jade pointed, and the others saw that there was indeed a blue porcupine, and it was truly wearing an angry hat, though none of them could have said just how they could perceive its mood, though the flames were something of a big hint.

"Ah, yes! Well spotted Jade. Now we must remove the hat. Tohru!"

"Yes Sensei?"

"Go fetch angry hat!"

Tohru blanched as looked at the heaving throng of flesh, blood and teeth...especially teeth. He had never seen a crocodile before, and he was having troubling imagining all that biting power in one place. "But Sensei..!"

"No buts! You want to rescue Jackie? You want Uncle to save the day? Then fetch Uncle the hat!"

Jade trotted to Tohru's side, patting him on the knee. "No worries Big T, I'll back you up!"

"Jade will stay here!" Uncle disagreed. "Too dangerous!"

"Aw man!"

"But Sensei...!"

"Uncle has spoken! Go fetch hat!"

*Sigh*. "Yes Sensei," agreed Tohru as he stomped off into the melee of fur and claws.

"Shouldn't we be, uh, helping?" murmured Agent Dredge as he watched the Japanese giant try to fight off a maddened kangaroo.

"Do you really want to get mixed up in all of that?" demanded Agent Loki. "...Didn't think so. Besides, I want to see just how great this Archeologist is anyway."


	2. Chapter 2: The Open Gate

**Author Note**:

Well, that certainly took a long time. Sorry about that; between real life stuff, and the sheer pain of editing this thing, creative progress was moving at a snails pace. Hopefully, the next chapter will be easier, and the next update interval will be shorter. Anyway, this is where things really start getting interesting, and it's also the first real fight scene i will be posting on the Site, so let me know how i do.

* * *

"And you wanted to leave me behind," crowed Jade as she spun her new hat around on her finger, grinning cheerfully. The others merely groaned, clutching broken, bruised, and trampled body parts. The chaotic melee had quickly devolved into a free for all brawl, dragging in the idle agents, and setting the whole mess to 'mince'. By the time Jade managed to sneak into the conflict and abscond with the magical head-gear, everyone else was left looking like something the cat had dragged in1. The agents in particular seemed to take issue with this fact.

"Court-Martial!" roared Agent Loki, brushing off the hoof marks that covered his back, storming towards the huddle of Chan's.

"Can't. Jade's not part of the Agency," responded Captain Black with a worrying amount of cheerfulness for a man with two black eyes. He really didn't like Agent Loki.

"I wasn't talking about her," growled Loki as he turned on the eldest Chan. "Why didn't you tell us about..." [THWACK!] "Ow! Stop doing that!"

"Aiyah! Uncle told you he has never been here before! One more thing, the inscriptions do not tell everything! One more thing, Jackie ran off ahead, where I could not see the warding inscriptions! One more thing, there are probably many more traps ahead of us, waiting to kill poor Uncle because clumsy people go where they should not…!"

"Hey!" called Jade, and everyone felt a brief moment of panic when they realized that they couldn't see her anymore. "I think I found the temple doors! And I didn't find anymore traps or anything!"

"...". Everyone looked at Uncle.

"What? Uncle said there are probably more traps, not definitely."

"So the old man is only probably losing his touch, instead of definit-" [Thwack!] "Stop that!"

"Now remember, we have no idea what is beyond this door," cautioned Jackie as he crept up to the dread portal, which loomed up above him like an enraged beast. It was covered spikes, blades, glaring gargoyles, and sneering demons, it smelled like death, and the wood was stained with dark fluid the exact same color as dried blood; in short, it looked like the sort of door a demon would keep on its torture chamber, even if it did have a fresco of unicorns and butterflies along the bottom border. "So everyone will need to be very careful, and very quiet," he finished as he pushed lightly on the dread portal and panicked as he watched the old door fall off of its hinges.

[Ka-BOOOOOM!] The old and heavy door fell to the ground like the stone gavel of a vengeful god, making the very walls ring with the force of its collapse, and revealing the depths of a cavern that danced with orange light; it also revealed the presence of a wizened old man clad in elegant robes, wielding a gnarled staff in one hand, and a medallion of dark metal in the other. As the sound of the door's collapse echoed around the room, he turned to glare at the intruders with a snarl, one eye glittering like jade, and the dead-eyed white of a corpse.

"Chan!" spat Daolon Wong, the name falling from his lips as a curse of hatred and fear.

Ironically, Agent Loki was the first to fight through the shock. "Secure the target, secure the target!" commanded Agent Loki as he barreled out into the ritual room and charged for the decrepit albino.

"No! Uncle did not say to charge!" Even as the old man spoke, the floor of the chamber began to creak and groan, buckling under some powerful internal force. "Daolon Wong did not disable the protections, he went around them, and now we must fight the guardians! One more thing, Jackie! Uncle does not like these new soldiers at all, they do not listen enough. Fire them immediately, and get new ones later!"

"Maybe later Uncle!" stammered Jackie as he charged ahead, feet dancing to keep their balance as the floor buckled, crumpled, and hunched; soon, the ground directly in front of him began to hunch up into a craggy, powerful shape, reminiscent of a strong mans back, which in turn rose to reveal powerful arms, sinewy legs, and a great bull's head. Then the stony minotaur dug its clawed hands into the ground, and hauled its mighty form up into the open air.

"Bad day!" moaned Jackie as the ground all around them began hunching up into new shapes, all of them growing to reveal new, strange shapes, an army of rock and earth, made of magic with only purpose: to expel all intruders with all the violence they could muster.

* * *

The Antechamber Of Past Remembrance was a marvel of not only it's own time, but many others. In no other place could there be found such towering ceilings, built so high even the bats were hard pressed to reach it, with nary a pillar or archway to support the expanse. Just the dome, lost to the dark.

Down below, the ground had been cleared of all obstruction in a hundred foot circle around the center, and the ground had been smoothed to a ceramic finish, leaving a disc of mirror bright earth surrounded by a craggy ring of stalagmites, a gleaming eye surrounded by a row of stone teeth.

In the very center lurked the portal itself, a deep well filled with purple fire and orange smoke, that roiled with the sound of shattering glass, bound in place by ancient spells made to last another ten thousand years. It was a place of peace, of quiet, of near perfect stillness meant to lay silent till the end of time…or until a band of small-minded fools came to disturb the place.

"Bad day bad day bad day!" shouted Jackie as he ran flat out towards the nearby wall, barely avoiding the swipes of the stony Minotaur who pursued him. Quick feet launched him straight up the wall, allowing him to backflip over the beast, who crashed into the wall with a roar. For the moment there was nothing chasing him, so he took a second to catch his breath, and see how the others were doing.

Agents Dredge and Agent Levi were acquitting themselves wonderfully, their high-powered rifles cracking apart the rock monsters with little fuss. Agent Loki was less successful, and had managed to get himself wrapped up in the coils of a stone cobra, forcing Captain Black to come to his rescue. Uncle had found his own match, confronting Daolon Wong in a battle of spells and magic; he was pressing the dark chi wizard hard, his own power far outclassing any spells the depowered mage could muster. Tohru guarded the old man's back, using a mixture of magic and sheer mass to summarily destroy any statue unwise enough to approach him. Jade was...and suddenly, Jackie realized that he had no idea where his niece was, which was a **very bad thing**.

"Jackie!" Uncle's timing was, as always, impeccable. "You must guard the portal!" the wizard commanded between magical blasts. "The wards are very unstable, and weak! One more thing, the slightest disturbance could set all the magic loose, releasing dark forces!"

"Sort of busy right now!" Jackie stammered, leaping from between a pair of colliding statues. "Can't find…ah, Jade!" He finally spotted his niece, and felt a surge of relief, before he realized that she was currently in battle with a gigantic stone Cyclops, which was also a **very bad thing**.

Jackie immediately panicked, rushing towards his niece with hands flailing. His heart stopped when the monster swung its stone club, leaving him lightheaded as he watched Jade sidestep the attack, then leap onto the club, running up the creatures arm to plop onto it's head. While the beast turned to and fro, dumbly trying to find her, the young Chinese girl spit onto her hands, then proceeded to rub them across the back of the monsters skull. Almost immediately, the magical light faded from the statues eyes, and it collapsed into pieces, leaving Jade Chan perched on a heap of gravel. "Hey Uncle Jackie! Did you know that these things have words on the back? Wipe them off, and the statue falls right over."

"Jade! This is dangerous!" he cried, scooping her up.

"Oh really?" Jade replied skeptically. "Then what's more dangerous, fighting stone statues now, or fighting a mystically empowered Daolon Wong later? Cause you know I'm gonna be there, right?"

"Wuh...but! Uh..." If there was a counter argument to that, he couldn't think of any, but a glimpse of writhing purple gave him an idea. "Then guard the portal!" he ordered. "Keep Wong away from it, and don't let anything fall in. The magic is unstable, so don't let anything fall in!"

"What?" demanded Jade as Jackie dropped her to the ground. "But, you need me in this fight!"

"I need you safe, and the portal needs guarding," retorted Jackie. "If you want to help, make sure that nothing disturbs it"

A two headed dog ran past the, Captain Black riding it and shouting, "Jackie! A little help?"

"Coming!" the archeologist called, before turning back to Jade. "Promise me you'll stay out of the fight and guard the portal," he said sternly, locking eyes with niece.

She squirmed and fidgeted, trying to avoid Jackie's eyes, but eventually spat a, "Fine, fine. I'll stay out of it…this time."

"Thank you," breathed Jackie, and she felt a twitch of remorse for the obvious relief in his voice, before he leaped back into battle and she remembered she was jealous of him.

Kicking at the floor unhappily, Jade stalked towards the portal.

"Waugh!" roared Agent Loki, wildly spraying automatic fire into his surroundings. "Come get some, come get some!" His gun clicked empty, and he simply dropped it, letting it hang from its straps as he reached into a pouch. "Eat fire, freaks!" He pulled the pin and hurled the grenade into the nearest clump of enemies.

"Ack! Grenade!" shrieked Agent Levi as she dove out of the way, a heartbeat before the explosive detonated. "Watch your aim, jerk!" she roared as the ball of fire broke the horde into rubble, sending pieces flying high into the air.

"Shut up you…!"

"Stow that bile Loki!" commanded Captain Black, joining the melee beside Jackie. "We need to work together on this, or else we're all sunk!"

"Bit late for that, sir!" retorted Agent Levi as she watched the army of golems move to surround them.

* * *

"This stinks!" grumbled Jade as she stomped towards the portal. "Stupid Jackie, stupid Wong, stupid statues..." It just wasn't fair! She was the best weapon they had, and they kept leaving her out because she was short! Still…Jackie was letting her fight, albeit at the sidelines, and the portal was important…and, she guiltily admitted to herself, it wasn't really fair to keep scaring Jackie like that. So yes, she'd stay out of the scrum this time, but next time-

Then sound of an explosion bounced her head up like a rubber ball, leaving her to stare at the fireball. "Cool!" she shouted, happy to watch the destructive carnage, until a blur of motion above their heads caught her eye. "What? Oh no...Uncle Jackie!" The archeologist leapt off the back of stampeding centaur, spinning around to watch Jade charging at the fiery pit, pointing up in the air at...he squinted, then blanched. It was a stone head, ejected from Loki's detonation, soaring through the air on a direct line to the magical prison.

"Bad day," he moaned as launched into a sprint.

"Aiyah!" cried Uncle as he saw the impending disaster.

"What? No!" Daolon Wong's snarl echoed through the smooth walls like a nightmare.

"Jade...!" Uncle broke into a run.

"Girl...!". Daolon Wong was quick to follow.

"Do not let it hit the portal!" they chorused, united in fear.

"Duh!" retorted the mini Chan, already charging for the portal. "C'mon, c'mon!" she muttered as the skull flew closer. "Almost..." it was just out of reach, and she grasped at it wildly as she sped up. "Almost...got it!" she cheered as she grasped the statue about the pointed ears, right before her left foot stepped out into open space. "Gah!" she cried as she began to plummet into the pit.

"Got you!" Once again the chi wizards spoke and acted in unison, grabbing Jade by the hem of her hoodie.

"Phew," she sighed as the old timers began tugging her back. "That was..." A dot of motion where none should be caught her attention, and she watched as the small pebble fell into the pit of purple flame, a piece of litter she had kicked over the edge as she had raced forward. "Oh. Bad day."

The pebble struck the flames, spreading a dark ripple that splashed against the walls with a spray of blue sparks. Jade held her breath, hoping that nothing... and then the portal erupted into a geyser of magical energy, a spear of white lighting catching Jade dead center in the chest and sending her spinning away towards the far wall as a cascade of pure power poured against the ceiling. Blue met green, purple devoured black, a kaleidoscope of mad colors writhed together, half simply vanishing through the stone, while the rest proceeded to wreck havoc amongst the rock and stone of the temple.

"Aiyah!" cried Uncle as he dodged a streak of green lightning. "Magic is loose!"

"Yes, and it is all your fault!" snarled Daolon Wong, stamping his feeble foot in barely contained rage. "If not for your family, I would have reclaimed my power and left, but no! You had to interfere as you always do, and now the very fabric of the world is undone by your meddling, even as the walls collapse about us! So now I must flee for my life, and I would suggest you do the same if you would live to see the world you have made."

"Wait, stop! Freeze!" ordered Captain Black as the dark chi wizard vanished in a cloud of dark smoke. The stone golems had collapsed with the well's release, allowing the agent to stalk to where Daolon Wong had vanished.

"Leave him!" snapped Uncle. "Daolon Wong is not important! Jackie, how is niece?" The wizards voice cracked on the last word, harsh with worry.

"Jade!" cried Jackie, darting towards her and falling to his knees to examine her still body. "She's breathing," he gasped, putting his ear to her chest. "But she's so cold..."

"Move Chan!" ordered Agent Levi as she shoved him out of the way. She analyzed Jade's condition with the quick professionalism of a surgeon, proclaiming, "Pulse is strong, but irregular. Breathing is even. No serious breaks, and I can't find any signs of internal bleeding. Both pupils are severely dilated, but no signs of a head injury...I think she'll live, but I'll need a hospital to be sure."

"Then we'll get her to one," Jackie declared, snapping to his feet. "It's not safe here anyway," he said as he watched the storm of energy begin to deconstruct the temple.

* * *

Tohru, poor loyal Tohru, felt a cold hand clench his heart when he saw the magic fling Jade away. When he heard that she was still alive, he felt his heart ease, but the chill hand of fear still clutched him...except that it wasn't fear he was feeling. This cold hand...oh no. "Sensei!" he cried, "I have the willies!"

"What?" Another might have been dumbstruck, but stubborn Uncle proclaimed, "That cannot be! Oni are sealed, why would Tohru... Aiyah! The portal, it releases…" he saw a flicker of emptiness amongst the kalaidescope, and felt a chill cross his own spine. "Dark spirits!" he called, pointing with a single, shaking finger to the flitter of magic that darted out of the cascade, a minor, almost unnoticeable shadow…without anything to cast it.

Bodiless, formless, not truly there but not quite unreal... and always, always looking at her. At the one who had freed it. In the nothingness of its face gleamed intelligence, shining through a bright pair of ruby red eyes.

"Aiyah!" cried the wizard. "Stop it! Do not let it reach Jade!" A stream of emerald energy erupted from Uncle's blowfish focus, forcing the spirit to dive out of the way. [Tsew, Tsew, Tsew]. Uncles fusillade filled the air with cleansing magic, but the spirit had his measure now, and dodged with contemptuous ease. It flowed to a cluster of white ribbons that flowed about the ceiling, and snatched up a pair of them in it's tendrils.

[Tsaw, Tsaw]. Then Tohru's magic joined the fusillade, and though the spirit dodge the attack, the beam tore one of it's prizes in half, the severed end quickly vanishing into the magical cascade. [Tsew Tsaw Tsew Tsaw]. The spirit bounced upward to dodge the attack, then dove for the ground, streaking over the earth directly at Jade, eyes narrowed in focus. [Tsew Tsaw Tsew ]. The wizards were slow to react, their blasts passing over the shadow as it darted at their youngest, passing through Jackie's body like a ghost when he tried to jump in the way. It hovered over Jade for a heartbeat, orienting itself, before it slowly settled over her like a shroud, then faded into her body, until there was nothing left to show it had ever been there.

"Jackie!" Captain Black charged towards the Chans, agents following along behind him. "What happened?"

"Jade!" Jackie ignored his friend entirely, scooping up his niece in his arms.

"Aiyah! Jade has been possessed!" cried Uncle, gripping his hair in his hands. "Dark spirit has her!"

"Worry about that later!" snapped Agent Levi, face tight with fear. Stone golems and old wizards were one thing, but dark spirits were beyond her ken, so she focused on the physical threat. "We need to leave now! This entire place is collapsing around us!"

"Then let's go," growled Jackie with dark eyes, charging for the exit at a dead run.

* * *

"Well...that was less than successful," commented Captain Black as he watched the cavernous temple collapse.

"Less than successful? Less than successful!" ranted Agent Loki. "That was a disaster! Because of that Chan girl we lost Wu, the portal, and the Temple!"

"I'm sorry, did you say it was Jades fault," growled Agent Levi. "Cause to me it seems that it was yours!"

"The portal erupted when that child ran over..."

"To catch that rock which your grenade blew away...!"

"Enough!" Jackie snapped, flinging his hand in the air. "We do not have time for this!" he growled as he pointed back at the car where he had unwillingly left Jade. "We need to get her to a hospital!"

"I know Jackie," consoled Captain Black, "that's why I called a helicopter! It'll be here soon, so we just need to be patient."

"Gah! I cannot just sit here waiting!"

"Why? What are we waiting for?" Everyone froze, then turned as one to look at the dimunative figure climbing out of the truck. "And what are we doing here?" demanded Jade Chan as she glared up at her Uncle.

Of all those gathered at that place, at that time, there were none who had seen a man smile wider or move faster than Jackie Chan when he scooped his niece up in his arms, and hugged her with all his might, tears falling silently down his face.

* * *

**Follow Up Comments: **

Wow. I'm pleased with the length, and i like how it ended, but after reading it for the last time, it feels kind of rushed. Meh. It's good enough, and if I had kept this on the editor's block any longer, i would never have published, so Cé le Vie (or however you spell the damn phrase.) And yes, there is more to come, so don't worry; this will keep going for a while yet.


	3. Chapter 3: Seeking Understanding

Author Note: I apologize for taking so long. Honestly, when I first started this project I thought I'd be post a chapter every other week, easy. Shows how much I know, huh? But I'm still alive, and I'm still writing, so I hope you're ready for more.

* * *

Chapter 3

"Pulse is...normal. Blood pressure...is normal. Breathing is...normal.". The doctor sighed and took off his stethoscope, rubbing his head wearily. "I'm sorry Mister Chan, but I cannot find anything wrong with Jade, magical or otherwise. She seems exactly the same as she was when she left."

"See?" commented Jade with a frown. "I told you I was fine!" She hopped down from the examining table, rubbing her arms through the flimsy paper gown she had been forced into. It was less than a day since the incident in the temple, and she had spent the last three hours being poked and prodded within the depths of the Section 13 medical wing.

"But that can't be right," commented Captain Black, rubbing his face, and his little goatee. "I know I saw something..."

"We all saw something," agreed Jackie, stepping forward to scoop up his niece, despite her protests. Jackie had not left Jade's side since the incident, and rarely put her down.

"Of course we did! We saw magic!" snapped Uncle from where he sat hunched over his current experiment, vials and bottles scattered over the counter he had claimed for his own. "Normal doctors cannot find it, because it was magic, and only magic can find magic!"

Doctor Ficus sighed harder, and fought the urge to roll his eyes. He was a man of science, who had spent his life banishing the mysteries of ancient history, and even now his skepticism ruled. But magic had proved impervious to his disbelief, and the old man had proved his worth with all things mystic, so the good doctor smothered his ire and said, "And what has magic discovered?"

"Nothing! That is the problem!" Uncle threw his hands high into the air with a shout. "Jade's chi is totally normal! There are no signs of the three magics that she has absorbed!"

"Three?" said Captain Black blankly. "But...I only saw one shadow."

"Yes, but the shadow caught two other magics, which it brought with itself! But there is no sign! It is as if there was nothing there!"

"Because I'm fine! This little shadow thingy must have missed or something. Now let me out!"

"I'm going to agree with Jade here," commented Agent Levi from where she lurked over at the far door. "If you can't find anything, then you might as well let her go."

"What! And let this little terror run around free! I promise you that as soon as our backs are turned she's going to..."

"Agent Loki, may I remind you that you were permitted in here on a previsionary status, and that you are still under review for your incautious use of explosives." Loki tried to glare at the speaker, but felt the expression fall apart when he met Captain Black's eyes.

"I agree with Miss Levi..."

"That's Agent Levi, Doctor."

"...yes, well, as I was saying, I agree with Miss Levi. There's simply no reason to keep her here."

"No reason?" spluttered Jackie. "But what if something happens?! What- what if she suddenly sprouts fangs, or turns purple!"

"So what, you're just going to keep her locked up in here for the rest of her life because of things that 'might' happen?" snorted the female agent. "You can't guard her forever."

"What if we compromise," commented Tohru. Far too large to fit into the hospital room with everyone else, the giant had taken a seat just outside the door, listening in silence to the debate. "Jade should be starting her next day of school in a week, so how about we keep her here till then. If nothing happens, then we send her to school."

"...It might be for the best," admitted Jackie. "We don't want her missing the first day of class."

"Blech! School!" Jade stuck her tongue out. "You know, I change my mind. I think I'm feeling a little green around the gills..."

"So you'd rather be stuck down here for the next month, getting stuck by needles and tongue depressors?" asked Agent Levi with a snicker.

"School it is!" declared Jade as she charged for the door. "Better get ready...!"

"Plenty of time for that later, I think," retorted the doctor as he grabbed her collar. "But right now, I really want to run a few more tests, just in case. Say 'ah'..."

"Aw man!"

* * *

"Don't do it," demanded Agent Levi when she cornered Jackie later that day.

"Do what?" cried Jackie. The archeologist glanced about himself nervously, taking note of the emptiness of the Section thirteen corridor. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Yes you do. First you're going to blame yourself, then you're going to promise yourself that it will never happen again, and to do that you're going to do something stupid, like sending her back to Hong Kong, or chaining her to her bed before your next mission, or even shouting at her and hurting her feelings."

"It is no business of yours! I am her guardian, I am responsible for her! Not you, me!"

"That's right, and normally you seem to do a good job, but right now you're not thinking clearly."

"I have never though more clearly! I have been letting Jade follow me into places where she could be hurt, or even killed, and that is wrong! It is a wrong, bad thing to do!"

"Is it really? You see, I haven't been around all that long, so I haven't seen everything, but I hear things. Seems like Jade's rescued you a few times, and saved the world a few times, and destroyed valuable equipment more than a few times. She's reckless and impulsive, has no respect for authority, and is never, _never_, more alive then when she's following you into yet another mad brained adventure. Taking that away from her, whether out of fear or caring, would break her heart, and in the end put her in even more danger."

"Oh? And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you think she's going to stop? Do you think that kicking her off the Team will keep her from wanting this? Because I don't. I think she's going to keep looking for adventure, no matter what, and I think that the thing which keeps her alive more than anything else is this, right here! All the danger and adventure a young girl could ask for, under the watchful eye of the only man who can keep her safe."

"...but this time I didn't keep her safe. And it's not the first time either! Like the time she was sent to the Demon World, or turned herself into the Queen of the Shadowkhan, or..."

"Stuff happens, and sometimes the best we have just isn't enough. That doesn't mean that we give up and go home...it just means we'll have to do better next time."

Jackie wanted to keep arguing, to tell agent Loki that she was wrong, but the way she spoke, the things she said, it was like... "Who did you lead astray?" he asked gently.

"And that, Jackie Chan, is none of your business," replied Agent Levi flatly as she turned and stalked away.

Jade Chan was very good at lucid dreaming. She had always had a talent for it, and practice had given her the skills needeed to turn any dream into an epic adventure. But sometimes...sometimes it went weird, and she lost control. Like here, and now, where the walls were too distant to be seen, and the floor was made of shadows with nothing to cast them, even as the sky above roiled with violet clouds. "Hello? Anyone h-here?". She winced at the cliche, even as it left her lips, then started shivering at the steady gale of cold wind that scraped against her bare skin. Bare, as in stark naked, a prospect she might find embarrassing were this not merely a dream.

"...sting...te...g", a voice drifted in on the wind, only half heard, the rest lost to dark silence.

"What?!" Jade shouted, astonished. When she she had called out, she had not expected answers. In her dreamscape, it was always just her, and her alone.

"Test...testing!"

"Yes? I can hear you!" she called.

"Good. This...bad...connection. Hard...speak with you...but urgent.". The strange voice reminded her of Shendu, all sibilant hisses and dark growls, with a faint echo that followed a heartbeat after the first words, as if they spoke from within a deep well.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Who...I? I am surprised... have not figured...out, Jade. I had not thought myself...quickly forgotten.". With every word the voice became clearer, until soon it sounded as though the speaker stood just behind Jades left shoulder. "I should be as familiar as...own face, seen within a mirror."

"W-what do you want?"

"I want the right things, Jade.". She could feel the voice on her skin, the hiss of harsh breath caressing her ear, until she fought not to turn, reminding herself that she was alone..."Things which are not important right now. The only thing that really matters right now is that you understand...THE REAL FIGHT IS JUST BEGINNING!".

Jade shot up in her bed, heart racing and breath pounding, in and out, in and out, like a storm touched tide. The strangers voice had roared out from just behind her, a battle cry and a scream of agony, while the darkness of her dream had been burned away by a ruby gaze that glared out of the shadows.

Even now, wide awake, Jade felt a shiver of fear down her spine; it had just been too real, to vibrant, to be a dream. And if it was not a dream...than what was it really?

* * *

End Commentary: Okay, hands up if you saw that coming; if you did…good for you. I honestly don't care. Everyone who didn't guess…good for you, you get to be surprised.

But seriously, how'd I do? True, there's not a lot happening just yet, but if you're clever you should be able to spot a lot of important details; not to mention the blatant foreshadowing. Your comments, questions, and opinions are all valued, and I hope readers will tell me how I can do better for next chapter, which will hopefully come around sooner rather than later.


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